GOP Must Not Fail Next Generation

The Republican Party is at a point where no one thought possible in the past, U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey said Saturday evening.

That is, he said, to have a Republican majority in the House and Senate working with a Republican president.

To do this, he said at the 67th Wayne County Lincoln Day Dinner, the GOP must come to terms with the responsibilities of governing, and those responsibilities lie in protecting the children and grandchildren of the United States.

"We've got to know and understand the American dream," Armey said. "The American dream is not to own a home. The American dream is to get your kids out of it."

Armey said the American dream has never been one that rested on making oneself happy. It is making others content that matters to this country, he said.

"Did you invest everything in yourself or in your kids?" he asked. "We need to get in touch with that. We are a nation of people who work on the well-being of other people."

The responsibility of the government, Armey said, is to keep that next generation safe and provide them with an economy that works.

"Don't they need to have a neighborhood," he said, "where the scourge of drugs is out? To have good schools? Don't we have an obligation to the world to ask these questions?"

The Republican Party, Armey said, must respond to these questions. And one way to ensure those children will have good schools and strong neighborhoods is to reduce the power the federal government has over those institutions.

"We need to place it back in the local community with the local school board working with the local principal," he said.

"We will have the best schools if we can do this.

"We can't fail these young people," he said. "It's our job to know and accept this responsibility."

Not only do decisions made in education affect our children, Armey said, but so do economic policies.

"The economic policies we pass are important so we can see them shine," he said, "maybe start their own business."

The decisions made in Washington, D.C., Armey said, must come directly from people across the country.

"There's got to be reasons for why we do this," he said. "We have got to get to you to find out what they are."

Once the Republican Party realizes who they need to listen to, Armey said the GOP will be on the right path.

"If we'll just listen to the American people -- their hopes, their dreams -- they will lead us to the right answers," he said.

"We must listen to the goodness of the American people. If we're not willing to be bold enough to risk our political careers for the right things, we don't deserve to come and ask for your vote."

In a pre-dinner press conference, both Armey and U.S. Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Navarre, sounded off on various topics.

Armey was critical of President Clinton's proposal for the budget surplus.

"The president has introduced $700 billion of increased spending," he said. "I don't think the surplus should be used to grow big government."

Armey said he feels Social Security can be saved by setting aside $40 billion. President Clinton has proposed setting aside $80 billion.

Armey and Regula also said they have no regrets over the impeachment process.

"I don't think it was a witch hunt," Regula said. "It wasn't a quest of Monica Lewinsky. It was a quest of perjury and obstruction of justice."

Armey said the American people would have been more disappointed had the House been given all the information and chosen to do nothing about it.

"What if that report had come in," he asked, "and Congress didn't take it seriously?"